James Johnstone

Abt 1654 - Bef 1695  (< 41 years)

• Name	James Johnstone
  Birth	Abt 1654	Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland
  	Possible place and year
  Gender	Male
  Property	1675
  	Purchased the small estate of Spotswood from John Bell
  Occupation	Apr 1679	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [1]
  	Writer (lawyer) - when witness to the baptism of his niece Margaret Reid
  Property	1680	Westruther, Berwickshire, Scotland   [2]
  	The lands of Spotswood were valued at £10 4s for Land Tax
  Property	29 Jul 1681	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [3]
  	With brother John, borrowed £4,444 9s Scots from Patrick Hepburne, apothecary, Edinburgh
  Property	28 Jun 1683	Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland   [4]
  	Deed relating to an outstanding sum (£147 Scots) loaned by his sister Sophia (paid from the bond of provision granted by her father)
  Role	Abt Mar 1683/84	Westruther, Berwickshire, Scotland   [5]
  	Emigration agent
  Residence	Mar 1684	Westruther, Berwickshire, Scotland   [5, 6]
  	'Portioner in Spotswood'
  Property	20 Apr 1684	New Jersey, USA
  Departure	11 Jul 1684	Leith, Midlothian, Scotland
  	Aboard the Shield of Stockton
  Arrival	29 Sep 1684	Patuxent River, Maryland, USA
  	Arrived with nine servants
  Residence	Oct 1684	Plainfield, Essex, New Jersey, USA   [7]
  	Settled temporarily in the Scots colony at Cedar Creek
  Role	1685	East Jersey, New Jersey, USA
  	Fractioner
  Residence	1685	Monmouth, New Jersey, USA
  	Took up residence in his lands south of the Topanemus
  Property	2 Apr 1685	Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland   [8]
  	Retour as heir to his father William in the lands of Caldsheills and Woodheids
  Occupation	9 Apr 1685	Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA   [9]
  	Member of the Board of Proprietors. Post held until 3 Oct 1692
  Property	8 Nov 1689	Monmouth, New Jersey, USA
  	Sold 150 acres to John Edward, then on 4 Feb 1690, 50 acres to Walter Ker (Early New Jersey deeds 171, 172)
  Property	1690	New Jersey, USA
  	Purchased land from Robert Turner alongside a purchase by his brother John
  Legal	15 Jun 1691	New Jersey, USA
  	Bond, John Tatham and James Johnston, owners of the sloop Unitie, to Matthias De Hart, master thereof, to hold him harmless in regard to his freight of tobacco
  Title Suffix	of Spotswood
  Name	James Johnston  [5]
  Occupation	Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA
  	Agent/ proxy for Thomas Cox, one of the 24 principal East Jersey proprietors
  Occupation	15 Jun 1691	New Jersey, USA   [10]
  	Shipowner: co-owner with John Tatham of the sloop, Unitie (the same ship as brought David Mudie back from Scotland in 1688?)
  Property	7 Sep 1692	East Jersey, New Jersey, USA   [11]
  	Satisfaction of mortgage, given by James Edwards on his land at Toponemus to James Johnstone
  Death	Bef 1 Oct 1695	New Jersey, USA   [12]
  	When his brother John was described as his heir, in granting a land patent to Robert Ray
  Person ID	I22301	East Jersey Genealogies
  Last Modified	7 Dec 2025

  
  

  Father	Mr William Johnstone,   b. Abt 1621, Lanarkshire, Scotland d. Bef Feb 1670/71, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland (Age < 50 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Isabel Maitland,   b. 24 Nov 1626, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland d. 1686, Gladsmuir, East Lothian, Scotland (Age 59 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	Abt 1654
  Family ID	F19387	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - Abt 1654 - Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland Occupation - Writer (lawyer) - when witness to the baptism of his niece Margaret Reid - Apr 1679 - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland Property - The lands of Spotswood were valued at £10 4s for Land Tax - 1680 - Westruther, Berwickshire, Scotland Property - With brother John, borrowed £4,444 9s Scots from Patrick Hepburne, apothecary, Edinburgh - 29 Jul 1681 - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland Property - Deed relating to an outstanding sum (£147 Scots) loaned by his sister Sophia (paid from the bond of provision granted by her father) - 28 Jun 1683 - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland Role - Emigration agent - Abt Mar 1683/84 - Westruther, Berwickshire, Scotland Residence - 'Portioner in Spotswood' - Mar 1684 - Westruther, Berwickshire, Scotland Property - 20 Apr 1684 - New Jersey, USA Departure - Aboard the Shield of Stockton - 11 Jul 1684 - Leith, Midlothian, Scotland Arrival - Arrived with nine servants - 29 Sep 1684 - Patuxent River, Maryland, USA Residence - Took up residence in his lands south of the Topanemus - 1685 - Monmouth, New Jersey, USA Property - Retour as heir to his father William in the lands of Caldsheills and Woodheids - 2 Apr 1685 - Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland Occupation - Member of the Board of Proprietors. Post held until 3 Oct 1692 - 9 Apr 1685 - Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA Property - Sold 150 acres to John Edward, then on 4 Feb 1690, 50 acres to Walter Ker (Early New Jersey deeds 171, 172) - 8 Nov 1689 - Monmouth, New Jersey, USA Property - Purchased land from Robert Turner alongside a purchase by his brother John - 1690 - New Jersey, USA Legal - Bond, John Tatham and James Johnston, owners of the sloop Unitie, to Matthias De Hart, master thereof, to hold him harmless in regard to his freight of tobacco - 15 Jun 1691 - New Jersey, USA Occupation - Agent/ proxy for Thomas Cox, one of the 24 principal East Jersey proprietors - - Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA Occupation - Shipowner: co-owner with John Tatham of the sloop, Unitie (the same ship as brought David Mudie back from Scotland in 1688?) - 15 Jun 1691 - New Jersey, USA Death - Bef 1 Oct 1695 - New Jersey, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Not the 'James Johnston, son to John Johnston" in Ochiltree listed in the Proclamation of Fugitives as a fugitive (see Wodrow vol 3 pt 2, p13)

  
  

• Sources

  [S3614] Births (OPR) Scotland, Edinburgh 685/1 80/251. [S3526] National Records of Scotland, (Location: Edinburgh;), E106/6/2/7 Land tax rolls for Berwickshire (vol.2). http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ [S3526] National Records of Scotland, (Location: Edinburgh;), RD4/49/831. [S3526] National Records of Scotland, (Location: Edinburgh;), RD2/68/1200. [S3659] Scots Proprietors, The, Advertisement to All Trades-Men, Husbandmen, Servants and Others Who Are Willing to Transport Themselves unto the Province of New-East-Jersy in America, a Great Part of Which Belongs to Scots-Men, Proprietors Thereof, p2. [S3526] National Records of Scotland, (Location: Edinburgh;), RD4/LIV304 and LIV403. [S3546] Pomfret, John E., "The Proprietors of the Province of East New Jersey, 1682-1702", p287. [S3625] Thomas Thomson (ed.), Thomson, Thomas, Inquisitionum ad Capellam Domini Regis retornatarum: Abbrevio, (Name: Record Commission, Great Britain; Location: London;), Vol. 1, Berwickshire, 420. [S3720] Miller, George J., The Minutes of the Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey from 1685 to 1705, p2. [S3607] Nelson, William, Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State, 1664-1703, p221. [S3607] Nelson, William, Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State, 1664-1703, p202. [S3607] Nelson, William, Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State, 1664-1703, p238.